In Bellingham, our city parks range widely from large hiking areas to green spaces to neighborhood gathering sites just outside residents’ doors. While most parks are named for their streets, areas, or features, others bear the names of notable figures from local history.
When we survey the list of Bellingham parks named for people, we find stories ranging from the town’s founding entrepreneurs to neighborhood locals remembered for giving to their community.
Bloedel Donovan Park
At Lake Whatcom, one waterfront park bears the name of two founding entrepreneurs of Bellingham: Julius Bloedel and John Joseph Donovan. Sharing business in railroading, mining, lumber, and banking, these men, along with Peter Larson, started the company that became Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills in 1898. Bloedel dedicated the land of this mill as a park in 1946.
Today, Bloedel-Donovan Park features boat launches and rentals, community buildings, outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, and a playground. Its trails connect to Whatcom Falls Park and other lines on Whatcom Creek. Nearby residential communities are also named Old Mill Village and Larson Mill in reference to the area’s industrial history.
Carl Lobe Park
On Eldridge Avenue, Carl Lobe Park stands out for its connection to local World War II history. Named on a historic marker at the park, Carl “Bud” Lobe Jr. was a Bellingham High School graduate who lived on the street and lost his life at 23, serving in the war in 1944. His parents donated the land in his memory in 1950, and the park underwent restoration in 1978.
The small park features a train-themed playground, a multipurpose field, and a flowerbed by the park sign and plaque honoring Carl Lobe.
Elizabeth Park
Whatcom County’s oldest park bears the name of Mary Elizabeth Austin Roeder, wife of Henry Roeder of the local pioneer family. Henry Roeder donated the land in 1884, and the city dedicated it as Elizabeth Park in 1912 after previously naming it Public Park, City Park, and Walnut Street Park.
Street names in the Eldridge Avenue Historic District are also named Henry, Elizabeth, and Victor for the historic Roeder family.
Today, Elizabeth Park features a gazebo, fountain, playground, and tennis and pickleball courts. It also includes several of Bellingham’s oldest and tallest landmark trees, with over 55 species spread over the Columbia Neighborhood.
Euclid Park
Also in the Eldridge Historic District, Euclid Park and its location, Euclid Avenue, bear the name of Dr. Euclid Van Zandt, who arrived in Bellingham in 1881. The pioneer physician practiced in Bellingham and built a two-story shingle-style mansion on Eldridge Avenue in 1902.
Euclid Park features wooded trails on Lake Whatcom as a watershed conservancy area.
Fouts Park
A plaque at Fouts Park in the Lettered Streets Neighborhood explains that it occupies the former site of the Whatcom County Courthouse. This Sehome Hill sandstone building operated from 1891 to 1940 and was demolished in 1950. The plaque reads, “The park is named after William and Martha Fouts, who sold the 200 square foot property to the county in 1890.” It became a park in 1980, soon gaining today’s playground.
In 2022, the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship dedicated a bench at Fouts Park in memory of George Floyd and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Harriet Spanel Park
On Franklin Street, Harriet Spanel Park was once “Franklin Park” before a 2017 renaming for the late community activist. Harriet Spanel (1939-2016) of the York Neighborhood served on the Washington State Legislature for 22 years from 1987 to 2009. Years prior, she had served on the City of Bellingham Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, saving the land that became this park.
The park features a playground, picnic shelter, seasonal plantings, basketball court, and skate ramps. The 2024 sculptures “Billy & George,” named in reference to William Bellingham and George Vancouver, add a colorful, childlike touch to the surroundings.
Julianna Park
On Horton Road, the former “Cordata Neighborhood Park” became Julianna Park in 2019 to honor Julianna Guy (1926-2023). Guy had supported the purchase and stewardship of parkland for decades, especially in north Bellingham.
Julianna Park supports hiking trails through the woods, including a loop and a southern trail to June Road. Community work parties continue to improve the natural environment.
Lee Memorial Park
The green outside the Bellingham Public Library is named Lee Memorial Park after Peter P. Lee, a wholesale grocer in the 1900s. In 1905, Cyrus Gates cultivated the property that became Woodstock Farm after Lee’s son Raymond and his wife Gladyce acquired it, and their heirs sold it to the Bellingham Parks Department in 2004.
Lee Memorial Park once featured a central fountain and still showcases a sculpture garden. Sculptures include local works, the 2018 “Arch of Healing and Reconciliation” honoring immigrants and remembering Whatcom County’s history of racial injustices, and the 1965 “Japanese Stone Lantern” gifted by Bellingham sister city Tateyama, Japan.
We can continue honoring legacies of giving by treating Bellingham parks with respect and care for the neighbors every time we visit.
